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Player of the Year

So we’ve seen week 8 come and go, marking the unofficial halfway point of the season.

Sure some teams have already taken their bye, meaning they’ve only played 7 of their 16 game scheduled, but many have played 8. So I figured I’d take a look back at my picks for the major awards and who was gonna win it all, and tell you who really won the 1st half of the season.

My Pre-season Division and Wild Card Winners

NFC: New York, Seattle, Green Bay, Atlanta, Dallas & New Orleans

Clearly I, was very off when I picked the Falcons and Giants to win their divisions. Sure it could still happen, but it’s very unlikely as they sit in 3rd and 4th respectively. But Seattle and Green Bay are both sitting pretty atop their respective divisions, and while Dallas and New Orleans aren’t wildcard times, they of course lead their divisions and would be playoff teams, as I thought they would be. I think the easiest division for me to pick had been the North. But this has become of the of the bigger surprises for me, with both Detroit and Chicago right there heading into the second half. The Saints, who I thought would be in a dog-fight with the Falcons all year for the South are coasting right now, but as we all know, a lot can happen in a short amount of time in the NFL. If the playoffs started today, 4 of my 6 pick would make the playoffs.

AFC: Patriots, Denver, Baltimore, Houston, Cincinnati, and Indy

Here’s another case of getting the teams right (for the most part), just not picking them high enough. Let’s talk about Indianapolis, who are showing they are a legit Superbowl contender, having knocked off three of the best teams in the league (Denver, Seattle and San Francisco), and easily at that. I had them winning the a wild card spot, so I wasn’t really off, but I never thought they’d do this well again. A lot of their success last year came in 4th quarter comebacks, something I didn’t see them replicating. Denver I’m not wrong about, but my biggest shock might be in Kansas City. I knew the Chiefs would be improved, never did I think they’d lead this division. I figured they’d battle for a wild card. But here they are the last undefeated team standing. The Pats hold a slim lead, but things can change quickly if they’re not careful. Baltimore and Houston have been big disappoints, while the Bengals defense has given them a nice lead in the North. Just like in the NFC, 4 of my 6 picks would make the playoffs if they started today.

My AFC and NFC Championship games probably won’t end up quite the way I picked them, but my Superbowl pick of Denver over Seattle (sure call it chalk) does remain as a real possibility.

And how about my pre-season award winners? Here is how some of my picks have changed.

Offensive Rookie of the Year:

I picked Texans Wide-receiver DeAndre Hopkins. After a half of football, my vote would now go to Packers Running Back Eddie Lacy, who I put down as an honorable mention. He’s given the Packers another option on offense, which just makes them more dangerous.

Offensive Player of the Year:

I picked Lions WR Calvin Johnson. After a half of football, my vote would now go to Broncos QB Peyton Manning, another pre-season honorable mention by me. How could he not be the guy right now? Look at his stats: 29 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. He’s completing nearly 72% of his passes and has only been sacked 11 times in 8 games. Sure he’s got a lot of weapons but he’s also finding them and making all the throws. But to be fair to Megatron, he’s having an insane year yet again.

Defensive Player of the Year:

I picked Bengals Defensive Tackle Geno Atkins. After a half of football, my vote would now go to the Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali. This guy has done a little bit of everything. 4 forced fumbles, 23 tackles, a pick 6 and 9 sacks.

I picked Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. After a half of football, my vote would now go to Colts QB Andrew Luck. This guy has shown he was the right guy to take number 1 last year. He can outplay the best of them, and can put early game struggles behind him to help his team late. His numbers aren’t flashy, but he takes care of the ball and is a true leader.

I picked Seahawks Pete Carroll. After a half of football, my vote would now go to Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid. When you turn a 2 win team into an undefeated team halfway through the season, you’re going to be considered for awards.

Houston Texans: This is a team I saw as one of the last two standing in the AFC. With a running back tandem like Arian Foster and Ben Tate, with a very good defense that got back Brian Cushing to play along side last year’s defensive player of the year in JJ Watt, I thought it was time for this team to take that next step. But Matt Schaub has regressed, and is now injured, and TJ Yates didn’t do much better backing him up.

Dis-Honorable Mention: New York Giants – They collapsed in the 2nd half of 2012, and have carried that bad play into 2013. Injuries have ravaged the o-line, secondary and running back position, but they still have too many weapons to be just 2-6 in the first half.

Biggest Disappointment – Offensive Player

Ravens RB Ray Rice: This is a guy who is usually atop the rushing yards leader board. But a year removed from helping his team win the Superbowl, Rice hasn’t done much to help his team, and it’s a big reason why they’re just a 2-win team coming out of their bye. At 26, there should still be something left in the tank, but he hasn’t been producing. He’s been very good in his career after the bye, so maybe the extra time off will help get him back on track.

Dis-Honorable Mention: Redskins QB Robert Griffin III – It might not be fair to say this, as the mobile quarterback is coming off a serious knee injury that knocked him out of the playoffs last year. But if you’re going to let him play, that means he’s healthy, which means we should be seeing more consistency from last years Rookie of the Year.

Biggest Pleasant Surprise – Team

Carolina Panthers: This team is riding on the high of a 3 game win streak that saw their offense put up 30+ points again, and the defense limit its opponents to 13.7 points a game, 2nd only to KC. This team hadn’t been over .500 since before Cam Newton was drafted. They are 2nd in a division where the Falcons play. That means something.

Honorable Mention: Kansas City Chiefs – 2 and 14 to 8 and 0. A sack happy, shutdown defense. A good run game. A quarterback who is very good at game management. They get honorable mention because despite a bad record a year ago, this team sent 6 players to the pro bowl, so the turnaround isn’t a huge surprise. This team is primed for a postseason run.

Biggest Pleasant Surprise – Player

Cowboys LB Sean Lee: This guy has a nose for the football, tied for 1st in the NFL with four interceptions, one of which he returned for a score. He also has the most return yards of a defensive player. He’s also defended 10 passes, recovered a fumble and has a combined 81 tackles.

Honorable Mention: Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor – His team only has 3 wins, and his numbers aren’t great, but after a few years of disappointment, he’s shown glimpses. First of all, those 3 wins match Oakland’s win total from a year ago. He can run with the best of the mobile quarterbacks. And he wasn’t even supposed to be the starter. Matt Flynn was brought in, and Pryor just flat-out beat him for the job.

So there you have it. That was fun, looking back at what I thought preseason and seeing how it’s panning out. Of course there’s still a whole lot of football to be played, and everything I wrote here (or almost everything) could be meaningless come week 9 or 10. But that’s the beauty of the gridiron, nothing stays the same for long. So win, lose or draw, let’s go out and enjoy the 2nd half of the 2013 season as much as we did the 1st half.